SUPPLIER GUIDE LOCATING AND RESPONDING TO A SOLICITATION. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of General Services Bureau of Procurement

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1 SUPPLIER GUIDE. LOCATING AND RESPONDING TO A SOLICITATION The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of General Services Bureau of Procurement

2 The Commonwealth of PA Department of General Services Bureau of Procurement LOCATING AND RESPONDING TO A SOLICITATION This guide is intended to provide you with instructions on locating current bidding opportunities and responding to solicitations. There are two different ways to Locate a Solicitation. The most common is through E-Marketplace; navigation instructions are included below. The second is through the PA Supplier Portal; navigation instructions are included in the section following Locating a Solicitation at E-Marketplace. Also included later in this guide are detailed instructions on how to Respond to, Change or Delete a Solicitation Response. All bidding opportunities (with an estimated cost in excess of $10,000) for materials and services for Commonwealth agencies are published at the Department of General Services E-Marketplace website. However, to view the entire solicitation, you may need to login to the PA Supplier Portal. Your login and password are provided when supplier registration is completed. LOCATING A SOLICITATION at E-MARKETPLACE 2

3 . To locate current bidding opportunities, go to E-Marketplace, your one-stop shop for all bidding and contract information. The main page includes the following menu options: Solicitations Search and view current solicitations. Solicitation Tabulations An summary of the suppliers and responses to previous solicitations. These tabulations are for information only and do not constitute an official award. Awards A list of all recent awards in response to Solicitations. Search Contracts Search the Commonwealth database for state contracts awarded by DGS and other agency-selected contracts. Sole Source Procurements Includes all agency requests for sole source purchases of supplies and services. All current advertised solicitations can be found on E-Marketplace under the Solicitations tab. To locate a solicitation, follow these steps: A. Select the Solicitations tab. B. Start bidding search by entering or selecting specific search criteria in one or more of the available fields, then click on Search. 3

4 C. Below are search results that provide a listing of current solicitations, based on the criteria selected. From here, specific solicitations can be viewed. D. After locating the solicitation, click on the underlined Solicitation Number to open the Advertisement Information page. The Advertisement Information page (seen above) provides a general overview of the bid, which will specify if responses will only be accepted electronically. You must go to PA Supplier Portal to complete. 4

5 LOCATING A SOLICITATION at PA SUPPLIER PORTAL A. Open your web browser and go to PA Supplier Portal. Browser compatibility is provided on the home page. B. Select the Logon button. - Enter the Logon ID and Password created during registration. - When the data entry is complete, select the Log In button. - The PA Supplier Portal Welcome Screen will display (pictured above). C. If you have been assigned both the Administrator and Bidder roles, the Vendor Administrator tab will be selected by default. Select the Bidder tab to proceed. - A box will appear asking if you want to view secure content. Select No. D. To begin your search for bidding opportunities, select the Search/ Submit a Bid link in the left navigation panel. E. The Process Bid screen will display, and contains search fields to assist you in location solicitations. - When the Bid Document number is known, enter it into the Number of Document field and select the Start button to initiate the search. - When the Bid Document number is not known, select the drop-down list in the Status field and choose one of the available options. Then select the Start button to initiate the search. F. A list of search results will display by using any search method. - The Display icon (a magnifying glass) displays basic data and detailed information of the selected bid solicitation, as well as the Bidder s bid response after it is created. 5

6 - The Bid Document number is a link and, when selected, will open the bid solicitation for viewing. - The Change or Edit icon (pencils) will allow information on a previously held or submitted bid to be changed by the bidder. - The Create icon allows the bidder to create a bid response on behalf of their company on any open solicitation. - The Trash or Delete icon is used by the bidder to delete a bid response. G. Select one of the icons for a particular bid. H. The Display Invitation for Bid screen opens for viewing. - To exit this screen, select the Back to Initial Screen link. You will be returned to the search results list where you may continue to look for additional bidding opportunities. If you require assistance with the bidding process, please contact the Customer Service Center at (877) or (717) and select Option 2. RESPONDING TO A SOLICITATION 6

7 Before responding to a solicitation, be sure that you have carefully reviewed the entire bid solicitation document and understand both the specifications and (if applicable) any special conditions. Additionally, take careful note of the solicitation s End Date & Time and Opening Date & Time. The End Date & Time is when the solicitation officially expires. You may make changes to your submitted bid response until this time. The Opening Date & Time is when the solicitation responses will be opened and evaluated. To begin the Bid Response process, follow these directions: A. Locate the bid solicitation that you wish to respond to. B. Select the Create icon to begin creating your response. C. The Process Bid screen will display. D. On the General Data tab, complete the Attributes sub-tab. E. Attributes are a series of questions to which responses are required. Read each question carefully. Select the drop-down button in the Reply field and choose your response from the list. - Where directed, enter any additional information associated with the question into the comment field. If you do not reply to every Mandatory Attribute Question, you will receive an error message when submitting your Bid Response. F. Complete the Information from Purchaser sub-tab. - Within the Information from Purchaser sub-tab, you will find information from the Commonwealth which describes the specifications and conditions of the solicitation. The information may be entered as text in the Tendering Text or Purchaser s Remarks fields, or as a document attached to the solicitation. - Open all attachments by selecting the document name link and carefully review them before submitting your response. Many solicitations require that an attachment (such as a form, for example) be completed and returned with your bid response. In these cases, you must first open the document and save it to your computer desktop or another electronic file. Then complete the document as required and re-save the document with your updated information. To re-attach this document to the bid, you will need to go to the My Notes sub-tab. G. Complete the My Notes sub-tab. My Notes contains two areas: Texts and Attachments. - Within Texts is Bidder s Remarks, where you would type any 7

8 comments or information associated with your response. When entering comments in this field, be careful not to include any statements that would conflict with the specifications or terms and conditions of the solicitation. If this occurs, your bid response could be rejected. - The Attachments area provides the ability to attach any documents to your bid response. Be careful not to attach anything that would indicate a change or conflict with the specifications or terms and conditions of the solicitation. If this occurs, your bid response could be rejected. H. Review the Partner/Delivery Address sub-tab for any delivery address information for the materials or services being requested for the solicitation. Do not change anything under Partner/Delivery Address unless instructed by the Commonwealth. I. Review the Conditions sub-tab for any conditions such as discounts off of gross prices or surcharges, which are associated with a specific line item. Do not change anything under Conditions unless instructed by the Commonwealth. J. Upon selection of the Item Data tab, you will be defaulted to the Item Overview screen. This screen displays basic information about each of the line items in the bid solicitation. The solicitation may specify pricing (worksheet, catalog, price list) to be added as an attachment under My Notes or pricing may be entered under Item Data tab. To begin entering information into the line item, select the line item number and the Display icon. You will automatically be on the line item s Basic Data screen. As required, complete these fields. - Vendor s Product Number: If applicable, enter your company's product number in this field. - Manufacturer: If your product is produced by a manufacturer, you may enter it in this field. You may also perform a search for the manufacturer by selecting the Find icon. - Manufacturer Part Number: If the manufacturer s part number is different than your company s part number, enter it in this field. - Price: Enter your company s price in this field. - Per and Target Value Bid: These two fields should remain blank. The Per field defaults as per the solicitation. - Delivery Time (Duration): Enter your estimated lead time for delivery in this field. Notice that the Duration (days, weeks) defaults into the bid response based upon what was entered in the solicitation. - Incoterm: Review this field to ensure that it displays FOB Destination as the delivery term. If it does not, select the Find icon and correct it by 8

9 selecting the FOB from the results page. - Origin Acceptance: This field is to remain blank. If the solicitation contains more than one line item, repeat the steps described to complete each line item. K. The remaining sub-tabs on the Item Data tab are very similar to those on the General Data tab, and should be completed accordingly for the applicable line item. - Schedule Line: This sub-tab relates to delivery schedules, and should only be addressed if applicable. - Information from Purchaser: This sub-tab should contain details and attachments specific to that particular line item. Review and address any instructions, as necessary. - My Notes: Enter any notes back to the Commonwealth, as necessary. - Conditions: If applicable, enter the percent discount off of a manufacturer s price list or catalog for the associated line item. - Partner/Delivery Address: Review for any delivery address information for the requested materials or services specific to the line item. L. Select the Check button to review any resulting errors and/or messages. - Fix any resulting errors as needed, which are marked with orange squares. Any messages marked with a yellow triangle are informational only. M. Select the Submit button to submit your solicitation response. If you re not ready to submit, select the Hold button. - A message confirming your actions will display. N. After your have submitted your solicitation response, you will have the option to print a copy by selecting the Output Preview button. O. If you don t want to prepare any responses to additional solicitations at this time, select the Log Off button to end your session in the Supplier Portal. An confirmation will be sent to the address specified at the time of your registration, and it will verify that your bid response has been If you require assistance with the bidding process, please contact the Customer Service Center at (877) or (717) and select Option 2. 9

10 CHANGING A SOLICITATION RESPONSE A. Log on and select the Bidder tab. B. Locate and select the solicitation response that you wish to change. A change can be initiated in either of these two ways: - Select the Change icon. Your solicitation response will open in Change Mode and you will be able to make any changes as necessary. - Select the number of the applicable bid to open it in Display Mode, then select the Change button (located at the top of the screen) to switch the document over to Change Mode. Make any changes as necessary. C. When the changes to your response are complete, select the Check button. Review any errors or messages as described previously. D. Select the Submit button to re-submit your solicitation response. If you re not ready to re-submit, select the Hold button again. E. After you have re-submitted your solicitation response, you will have another option to print a copy for your records. Select the Output Preview button (located at the top of the screen) to do so. F. Select the Log Off button to end your session in the Supplier Portal. 10

11 NOTE: If you place a solicitation response on Hold, you can submit it by following the Changing A Solicitation Response instructions. DELETING A SOLICITATION RESPONSE You may delete a solicitation response at any time prior to the solicitation s end date. To do this, the response must be in Held or Submitted status. A. Log on and select the Bidder tab. B. Locate and select the solicitation response that you wish to delete. - Select the number of the applicable bid to open it in Display Mode. - Select the Change button to switch the document to Change Mode. - If the Delete button is active, select it to delete the solicitation response. Please note that it may be necessary to select a tab or field (and possibly make a change in that field) to activate the Delete button. C. The Supplier Portal will prompt you to verify that you really want to delete the bid. Select the OK button to confirm the deletion. D. Select the Log Off button to end your session in the Supplier Portal. If you require assistance with the bidding process, please contact the Customer Service Center at (877) and select Option 2. 11

12 For more information about Supplier Response to a Solicitation, please contact: Customer Support Center (877) , Option #2 Department of General Services Bureau of Procurement 555 Walnut Street, 6th Floor Harrisburg, PA Elizabeth Lenhart, Program Manager Phone: (717) Kenneth A. Rapp Deputy Secretary, Procurement Sheri Phillips Secretary, Department of General Services Tom Corbett Governor REVISED JANUARY